Monday, August 30, 2010

Calico moved in on Saturday in a wonderfully uneventful afternoon, after which followed an uneventful 24 hours where she was already part of the herd of Sue's horses - to the extent they were calling for her when I took her in for her 1 hour "spa" session Sunday evening.

In any case, it is a huge life change for me and has totally been the central focus of my mind… to the extent that I somewhat fell behind on other work.

But! That will change. :) For the better.

As I mentioned last blog, I was most productive when I regularly had horses in my life.

*There is an overlap on these two panels as the Lit reading is 2.5 hours (Yay Broads!) However, my friend, Sunder, will be hosting the event, so I will be able to make it to both. So… I send my equal pleading and promo to either event. Hear awesome Broads! Talk awesome Steampunk! Clone yourself and attend both (and share the technology with me!)

xx

Due to the insanity of the past few weeks, I'm still at over 150 emails in my inbox that require some sort of attention. It's better than 200. If you are awaiting a response from me, a thousand times "I'm sorry." I WILL get to you… and I WILL get back to scheduling readings for 2010 and into 2011… and I WILL return to the Broad Pod for 2010 and 2011.

The Chris & Trish Newsletter… may end up being relaunched in January. ;) Once Chris has settled in with her new baby… and I've settled in with my new horse (read as: "baby.")

Also, I am SO not even going to try and post blogs during Dragon*Con. I'm just not. And I haven't figured out how to schedule posts… (read as: haven't even looked at how to schedule posts). I'll post again for Wednesday, Sept. 1… and then I'll be gone till Wednesday, Sept. 8th.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Yeah, it's a cliché, but Life does some pretty crazy things now and again… and again… and again…

The first big thing going on in my life, and the main reason I took some time off from my blog, is

A Horse!!

Yep, real, live, flesh, bone, blood, and love horse. For me! It's been a total rollercoaster to see if I could handle this responsibility, and there certainly were some bumps in the road and some heartbreaks… and then some heart re-assembling, but I'm working on boarding contracts now, an ownership contract, and we've got a date set to move Calico into her new stall on Saturday. Prez Susan from the BSER has been a HUGE help in making this all happen!

It was a really hard decision to make. First of all, horses are FREAKING EXPENSIVE. You've got more food than any other pet - and I consider horses as much pets as partners, just as I consider any of my other pets partners in household decisions (Nylis, I appreciate your input, but groceries are not entirely going to your Greenies fund!) - you need to give much more time to them than cats or rabbits (who want, you know, maybe 15 minutes of love at a time. And food.), and, well, they don't really fit well into a house, so you need a safe and secure place to keep them.

And that's really just the tip of the iceberg.

But, I crunched my numbers, and it's doable. In fact, I'm setting up a bank account JUST for horse expenses.

In regards to time, I looked back at all my tax records and - quite surprisingly for me - I was THE MOST productive (down to FINISHING drafts for a novel and a half) when I was regularly working with horses 2-3 times a week with the rescue. With Calico, I'll be going out to Oakham (and perhaps Leicester, if that works out, too!) a minimum of 5 days a week, for a minimum of 2 hours a day. That will "cost" me at least 20 hours a week including travel, not including weekends I want to hang out with her (and Sue, who's boarding her) and take lessons.

BUT, I'll be doing this first thing of my morning (noon), which kickstart my day: physically, mentally, and spiritually. (If you don't think horses affect one's spirit, you haven't spent time with them.)

Also, of course, IT'S A HORSE!

More importantly, it's a horse I connected with in our first visit together, who's coming to me under circumstances that have worked out too amazingly to be simple coincidence. Calico is THE horse.

What does that mean for my life?

In no particular order:

Probably a huge scramble to organize myself through September.

More later hours at Smarthinking.

A kibosh on the plan for the U.S. tour while Scott's away (which, isn't necessarily a negative change, as things just kept coming up to prevent me from planning that event.)

A definite restructuring of spending, particularly in regards to travel/accommodations for conventions. (How many roommates can we squeeze into one hotel room?)

And… I really believe, much more fiction output and submissions in the near future.

Yes, this is a big change. But it's a good one. :)

xx

You get a double blog post, because, well, in the midst of my equine insanity, PI-CON happened!

I <3 Pi-Con! (And not just for the Awesome reason I don't think is official yet so I won't officially announce.) It's tagline should be "the convention where everybody knows your name." I caught up with so many friends and colleagues over the three days! The panels are a lot of fun to be part of and attend. The parties are great. I love getting to see the Come Again Players/Genetic Imperfection two days in a row and just being able to stumble back to my room afterwards.

One of the highlights, for me, of this year were hanging out in the Book Room on Dealer's Row with friends - and the fact they were fabulous and threw the Broads a party after our reading! Also, the Guest of Honor, Rob Sawyer, hung out there a lot. There was just a really positive energy in the room, and I hope that Aradia got a ton of sales.

While I normally have a 2nd home attending panels, I spent a good amount of time just wandering around and socializing. Much fun!

The Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading was also well attended, and two of my very good friends, Renée and Stef, drove out just to see us. Well, Stef was coerced into coming because she's working on a Comic! with me, and Renée was also interested in the jewelry making panel and networking. Both said they had a great time! (So, huzzah to Pi-Con for appealing even to more "mundane" folk!)

xx

So, that's my life for now - at least that I can share, and I'm quite happy with it! Yay, life, horses, writing, and conventions!

In any case, it was a FABULOUS Blogathon! I beat my net totals from last year. :) I connected with some amazing fellow/sister bloggers, and I had some great comments/conversations over important information on horses, rescue, and slaughter. I'm looking forward to next year!

I have NOT gotten all my Thank Yous done, unfortunately, as I only just got a bunch of PayPal invoices on Friday (the delay was for good reason.) So, give me until the end of this week if you donated or sponsored to get a personal Thank You that you can also use for tax purposes. If you have NOT gotten something from me, please let me know. It means I may not have gotten your receipt (or, possibly, I thought I sent it and did not.) I want to make sure everyone who made this such a great fundraiser gets their props!

xx

In my House…

My friend & writing buddy, Heather, is visiting me for a few days this week, and I'm looking forward to more writing, editing, cooking with her and Lexi.

This resulted in a good part of last week having fallen victim to the cruel tasks of the Cleaning Fairy. The good news: I have 6 cabinets, 4 counters, a can pantry, a liquor pantry, and 2 dining room tables (yes, I have 2 tables in my tiny dining room) that are CLEAN and ORGANIZED! The bad: That's only about half my kitchen… and doesn't include the rest of the house. Note: H-of-A DID organize and clean up the man-town that normally is the living room.

Also, I get to play with my friend Cyn's baby for THREE DAYS next week! Squee!

That means I will be busy as anything and may just do a short and sweet blog post on Wednesday. ;) Forgive me in advance!

xx

On the Interwebs…

After the Blogathon catchup, I got way behind on my social media skilz, so that should be better addressed this week.

And, also, computer wise, I'm happy to be helping out Broad Universe with our new website redesign! I got to see the functional preview and take some notes, and it looks GREAT! I'm so happy to see what we're getting, and I'm sure the other members are going to love it too!

Also, the rescue happens to be reworking their website, and I volunteered to help a little on that, too, so more Internet excitement. I'll also be helping out with the rescue's Facebook account… so, if you liked the Blogathon and want more great info, do join our group, or at least "Like" us!

Bay State Equine Rescue Twitter updates are on the horizon!

And crap… I need to check in with Jean Marie about the next Broad Pod! And my readers for September. And the whole buncha Broads for 2011! Eep!

The 'Net is EATING MY LIFE! (And I think I like it…)

xx

On the Paper…

The week before last had me FINALLY get to - and pass - the 10k. Granted, the vast majority of that was for the Blogathon, but that's ok. I hit 11,770, which brought my word "deficit" to only -2783. This week I hit 10,359 bringing me to only -2424. Yay! Even better, a little 4200 was fiction this week. On both Heather and Aurelio!

xx

And… that's about it.

Heather & Lexi are here (and have been for almost an hour and a half), so I realllllly ought to go to bed.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Thank you all so very much for sharing this journey with me to support the amazing horses that have been helped by our rescue.As exhausted as I am, I've had a wonderful time with you all - and I hope you feel the same.

Let me thank, one more time, the advertisers, donors, and guest blog sponsors who gave so generously before I even logged on today:

If you can patronize these brilliant people, please do!Check out their websites - some of them have great deals, all of them have excellent products and services, and some even have FREE STUFF for you.

Throughout the blog, I've also used a lot of pictures.Most have been my own or provided by the guest sponsors above.However, there are still quite a few photos from other BSER volunteers that we've collected over the years - or recently.

Several of the photos are from volunteer Jane Derosier.Most are marked, but not the ones in the collages.

The photos from the BSER event posts - like the learning one and the OSV Trail Ride - are from Ann McCrea of McCrea Designs.Ann does beautiful graphic design work and handles all the printed publications - and now many of the online publications - for the rescue.Please, go patronize her, too!(And, apologies, I think I forgot to include her name on some of the photos, too.Sorry, Ann!)

So, last call… and if you are reading any of these pieces over Sunday and Monday, please, please, please, consider adding to the donations.

I write for magazines, but I've also had some short fiction published in Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Badand Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Gloryand the now defunct Fantasy Gazetteer.I had some poetry published at Poetry Locksmith.I have a finished novel that requires me to get back on the query bandwagon again.I write with my good friend Christy Tohara.We did the Bad-Ass Faerie Stories together, we have one finished novel together that needs more editing, and we've almost finished a second novel together.

My second volunteer position is on the Motherboard of Broad Universe, an international non-profit dedicated to promoting women in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.(If the links not working, it's cuz we're in the process of putting up a new website - and Ah halped!)

One thing you should know about me is that I'm reallllly good at faking that I know what I'm doing.I'm so good at that, in fact, people ask this liberal arts major tech support questions all the damn time.More equine related, Susan trusted me for the Thursday morning chores, usually by myself, for almost 2 years after a few months training.(We've gotten much more involved with training since, too.And, again, I'm an unusual kinda person.)

Or, maybe Susan knew me too well.Because I actually learn things a whole lot quicker when left to my own devices.Not only that, but I have always had a closer connection to animals than humans… which Susan had admitted to similar.

Still, I'm quite sure God was keeping an eye on me or I woulda been ded.Horses are dangerous animals.Or maybe the horses really do love me back!

But I still love them.Very much!

And that's why I'm here, on this last post, begging for any donation you can spare to help me continue to help these amazing animals.Thank you!

Aimee Weinstein is a good friend of mine and a perpetual, muchly appreciated supporter of my endeavors - be they fiction, non-fiction, or horsey fundraising.I'm very happy to help her promote HER FIRST VERY OWN UPCOMING BOOK!!(How awesome is that?!)Go Aimee!And thank you for your support!

How often do you get to do a project that gives you a giggle every day?I was lucky enough to engage in such a project recently, and it has led to the (still-fingers-crossed) publication of my first book this autumn!

The book, which will be called Lost With Translation, is a compilation of signs – street signs, bathroom signs, directional signs, etc. – that are written in Japanese with an accompanying lousy translation in English.What do I mean by that?Well, see below:

This is fairly normal for the Japanese.They like to beat around the bush quite a bit – and do not say very much directly and clearly.The sign, located next to a popular pond in a popular park in Tokyo, fairly bows to the reader.In the overly polite Japanese society, bowing is a staple of proper manners, and I swear, if this sign could bow, it would do it.

When the book comes out, it will have nearly fifty photos such as this, and accompanying each photo will be text that I’ve written in English.A Japanese translation of my text will also appear on the page.Since I’ve written some fairly humorous paragraphs, the translations should be pretty interesting!

Please look for the book appearing from Discover21 publications in Tokyo.It will most likely be available in the U.S. on Amazon.More info to follow.

Fostering and inspiring individual supporters and volunteers to be active educators (like on this blog.)

As an educator outside of horse rescue, I appreciate how ingrained the focus of education is to the rescue.People won't stop abusing, neglecting, and abandoning horses to horrible fates if they don't know better.People don't even necessarily know what they're getting into when they decide to bring a horse into their life, so the rescue welcomes new horse owners to contact us for advice and support.

Donations the rescue receives definitely go to help with direct intervention, but they also help us educate people so they don't need us to rescue their horses.

Ideally, we'd love to educate the world enough so there was no need for horse rescues.

“The Boys” are doing great, despite the heat, humidity and the ongoing battle against the flies! At 20, Phoenix is now mostly retired, as arthritis in his hips makes longer trail rides uncomfortable for him. But, he’s making an excellent training horse for my 8-year-old daughter. I “pony” him alongside Breeze and it’s a great experience for her to get to ride with another horse on the trail, not just in the confines of an arena.

Breeze and I recently had a great adventure—a lovely trail ride through the woods and about ½ mile down the creek where we caught another trail to bring us home. There were 10 of us altogether, and it was a glorious day! We’re trying to plan another trip along the same route, but the weather isn’t cooperating.

I’ve attached a photo of the group just as we headed into the water (that’s me and Breeze on the far left-I’m wearing a blue shirt).

How is New Horizon Consulting doing this year?What are some of the projects you're working on?What are some new challenges and lessons that have come up in the past year?

I’ve been so fortunate that, despite a tough economy, I have more work than I can handle. I continue to write press releases, by-line articles and other PR-related materials for several national/international clients. I also recently picked up some work from a local community college. It’s been great to work with a local client, and I’m so glad to lend my skills to help them grow the institution.

As a freelancer, it’s tough to give yourself a break because if you’re not working, you’re not earning any income. One of the biggest challenges I face is the fact that, with so much work available to me, I realize how easy it would be to become a true “workaholic.” I’ve joked that I must make a concerted effort not to evolve into Jack Nicholson’s character from “The Shining” (endlessly typing “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”). My horses provide such a welcome respite from work and I’m coming to realize that the world won’t come to screeching halt if I take an hour or two to go for a ride. ; )

In May, you offered the series, "Secrets of Marketing Success."Can you share a little more about the courses and if you plan on offering them again?

Since then, I’ve done a series of webinars for the WV SBA and SBDC on social media and using Facebook for small businesses. We continue to develop new topics/materials based on feedback from participants, but right now, social media seems to be “where it’s at.”

The webinar format has been very popular because 1) it’s free; and 2) you can participate from anywhere without having to travel. I love them, too, and as I grow more comfortable with sharing my knowledge, I’m also growing more confident in my expertise.

Thanks! For me, creating a more positive future is about setting an example wherever you can. Here in West Virginia, we have a reputation for being heavily dependent upon extraction industries (coal, natural gas, timber) for our economy.

The reality is that there is so much potential here for hi-tech businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive, but they can’t seem to rise above the “noise” of the traditional industries. This is especially true for women who (at least in my area) are still mostly drawn to traditionally female employment roles (teachers, nurses, etc.). Not that there’s anything wrong with the extraction industries or becoming a teacher or nurse if that’s what you want to do--I just think that, in general, people in my area are unaware of other possibilities.

A large part of this is due to a lack of technology infrastructure to support hi-tech education and out-of-the-box workforce development. We desperately need broadband development here—people need to get over the Internet as a novelty and realize that it’s a vital utility for the future, a necessary infrastructure for progress…. but I digress. : )

Granted, a lot of people outside my state are surprised that I make a full-time living as a freelance writer, specializing mostly in hi-tech – after all, WV does rank toward the bottom in literacy. What saddens and frustrates me the most is that there are people INSIDE my state who are surprised by my career choice too—not because of me, but because a company from NYC or Chicago would give a WV girl a chance. Shame on them for not recognizing the potential of their own talents and skills to be marketable to the outside world!

So, I guess creating a more positive future has to do with rolling up your sleeves and just doing it for yourself and hoping others will learn from and feed off of your efforts. Not that I haven’t had tremendous support, both from family/friends and state programs to provide education/resources… it takes a village, you know?

In fact, this spring, I had the great honor of being named the West Virginia Women in Business Champion by the Small Business Administration for my work to help women develop and operate successful small businesses. The fact is, most of what I’ve done to earn the award is to pass along things I’ve learned in the hopes of saving others the trouble of having to learn these same things “the hard way.” To me, that’s what it’s all about—an intrinsic drive to help others whenever/wherever you can. After all, you never know when you’ll need some help yourself.

What other great projects do you have coming up that you would like to let people know about?

I’ve recently picked up a couple of projects for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine that were very interesting: one is the brochure promoting their Human Gift Registry program (the donation of one’s body for study upon death) and the otheris their annual Viewbook.

The HGR brochure was a fascinating/challenging project because while it’s a macabre subject, there really are tremendous benefits to the family of the deceased. The project required tact and sensitivity, while still maintaining a convincing tone. It was amazing to hear from the students how humbled and grateful they are for these gifts that allow them to study medicine. I’d never really thought much about this before, although I’ve known some folks who donated their bodies. It was very eye-opening – I’ve even considered a donation myself.

For the viewbook, I’m getting to work with a fabulously creative designer to come up with a unique twist to the typical viewbooks most colleges produce: this one will have a Facebook motif, where current students banter about what they’re learning in each class year. Prospective students get a peek into what it’s really like to be a student at WVSOM through a glimpse at current students’ wall postings. We’ve interwoven what I’m calling the nuts-and-bolts copy about the curriculum, etc. Coming up with the Facebook banter has been fun and challenging (writing dialogue is hard!) and I think we’ve arrived at a piece that will really speak to potential students in the own “language.”

What else is there that you wished more people knew about Kara Gray and New Horizon Consulting?

Nothing that I wished people knew, but something that may be surprising to know is that I literally live in the middle of a meadow, way out in the country (my husband and I built our own home here 3 years ago), but I work with clients around the world.

Most of my clients are in the hi-tech industry, living and working in large metro areas. They’d probably think I was a complete “hick” if they could see me at work in my jean shorts and flip flops! But, I turn out a hi-quality, professional product, so clearly location and wardrobe have nothing to do with it. : )

I wouldn’t trade the quality of life here for anything. I love that I can work in the fast-paced world of hi-tech PR and then “check out” at the end of the day to catch fireflies with my girls or sit on the porch swing with my husband and watch the sunset. I still live in the area where I grew up -- of course, I’ve traveled and seen the world, but I’d never live anywhere else. The fact that technology allows me to have the best of both worlds is amazing, and I’m INCREDIBLY grateful for the opportunity to live this life.

For more information about Kara and New Horizon Consulting, check out these web venues:

I finally got to visit my favorite massage therapist, Linda Spring (who also sponsored me!), on Friday.You know it's a good massage when you walk out of the office, feel more graceful, see colors more brightly, are entirely aware of all your senses, and just feel alive.I've had good massages before and since my last trip to Linda, but not amazing ones that change your whole perception of the world.

If you're wondering what massage therapy has to do with horses (besides Linda being a sponsor), don't worry, I'm about to get to it.

Many of the my sponsors in this Blogathon, and in prior, are advocates of a holistic lifestyle.That's something I firmly believe in.

During my massage, Linda was telling me of a therapy session she had with an equine client.She could see the muscles relaxing as she worked the tight areas, and she could see it in the horse's face, feel it in its breathing.The horse also took notice of Linda teaching these techniques to its human companion.

The horse easily returned to a state of balance.That's its natural state of being.

Humans are constantly separating the mind, body, and spirit.We rationalize, compartmentalize, treat symptoms, and tear apart our whole being.Animals don't do that.What they think IS what they feel IS the state of their body.

If a horse is acting up, there it is a physical manifestation of something.If a horse has reason to feel afraid, the body will reflect it, and you can bet that's all the horse is thinking about.If a horse is injured, a good human companion can tell right away from the horse's behavior: it's display ofthoughts and emotions.

The good thing is, people who spend time with horses - with any animal companions, really - we are drawn to imitate this Oneness.This Balance.I have heard over and over and over again that people who are close to their pets or who work with animals are significantly less likely to suffer from mental, physical, and emotional illness.And those humans born with these illnesses or disabilities almost always improve their condition when they spend time with animals.

Forget an apple a day, if you want to keep the doctor away, spend some quality time with animals.

One of the regular events that the Bay State Equine Rescue does is the Sponsored Trail Ride.It's about this time that many of the volunteers and riders are waking up and getting ready to show up…

Last year, we hooked up with Old Sturbridge Village, and had an amazing turnout.We repeated our success this year - with better trails (thanks to last year's riders' feedback) and better weather (not in our control, but appreciated - Thanks, God!).

(Ashley with Susan's horse, April; photo courtesy of Ann McCrea)

BSER President, Susan Sheridan, describes, "The day was GREAT! We had 72 riders and then another 10 people showed up to make a donation and have lunch with us. We had a great team of volunteers, food crew, parking crew, directors inside of OSV, snack stop crew, registration crew, Kathryn and Ruth had a booth with anti-slaughter information. The weather cooperated. The trails were great and the bugs were low. Overall a great success."

From our first year at OSV, we listened carefully to the feedback about trails and ways to make it better.We took the suggestions to heart, and the returning riders were very pleased with the ride this year.